PAFA Works on Paper and Archives Suite Construction Project

The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) requests a $350,000 NEH Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections Implementation Grant to support the construction of PAFA’s new Works on Paper and Archives suite. The project, beginning in late 2015, will implement recommendations from an NEH SCHC Planning grant (2013-14 project period) that identified the undeveloped fifth floor of PAFA’s 12-story Hamilton Building as an optimal site for storage expansion based on its potential for passive energy savings through location and efficient construction design, as well as resiliency in the event of a disaster. The energy-efficient, purpose-built suite will house three quarters of PAFA’s Collection: 10,500 works on paper and the entire Archives Collection, both currently stored in congested basement-level storage. Adjacent collections care, conservation, and research spaces will improve preservation and access to the collections for research for now and for generations to come